


it was only a dream?

by teeandrainbows



Series: Troped! [19]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Canon Compliant, English dammit, Gen, Halloween, Haunted Houses, Horror, Minor Becho, Minor Memori, Set during the s4/5 time skip, Spacekru feels, Spacekru on the Ring, cold open
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:00:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teeandrainbows/pseuds/teeandrainbows
Summary: It's just another ordinary day on the Ring until someone points out that it's Halloween.  That's when things get weird.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake & Harper McIntyre, Echo & Harper McIntyre, Emori & Harper McIntyre, Harper & Spacekru, Harper McIntyre & John Murphy, Harper McIntyre & Raven Reyes, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Monty Green/Harper McIntyre, Spacekru - Relationship
Series: Troped! [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1547764
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8
Collections: TROPED Choice: Horror





	it was only a dream?

**Author's Note:**

> Man I just loved Chopped: The 100 Fanfic Challenge.
> 
> This is CHOPPED CHOICE HORROR EDITION WOOOOOOOOO
> 
> Chosen Theme: Canon Speculation  
> Tropes: out of place intro, grabbing hand in the dark for comfort, haunted building, English damnit
> 
> Given that Spacekru is a popular dynamic, I won't be entering the "Most Unique Pairing" poll with this fic.

“What the hell?”

It was pandemonium. Harper couldn’t see her own hand in front of her face, let alone the others, and with the alarms going off, she could barely hear them either. Someone made a grab at her hand, someone with a rough, calloused hand, holding and squeezing it tight, stopping her from whirling around, trying to make sense of the chaos.

“I’m going to go check the--” she heard Raven’s voice, just barely, over the sirens that were threatening to split her head in two. Whoever was holding her hand (and she was positive it wasn’t Monty) began circling their thumb in a comforting motion.

Then, the noise stopped and the lights flickered back on, revealing a dark figure standing in the middle of the room. Harper gave a strangled cry, taking a step back and dragging Murphy with her while the others could only stare in shock.

= = = = = Six Hours Earlier = = = = =

It was just another quiet afternoon on the Ring. Monty was busy in the algae farm and Bellamy was at the radio as usual. They had been on the Ring for three years, and with every passing day, Harper grew more excited to get back to the ground. It was only a matter of time.

Still, though, life moved on while they were living on the Ring, and Harper had fallen into their regular routine. She had a sparring match with Echo that evening, and had asked Raven to practice with her; it had the added benefit of giving Raven a break from tinkering with the mechanics of the Ring.

“She’s tall, so you’ll probably wanna go for her legs,” Raven said, carefully lifting herself off the ground and holding up her arms in a ready position.

Harper nodded. “Right,” she agreed, taking the elastic out of her hair and collecting loose strands before tying it back up again. After wiping sweat from her forehead, she gave another nod. “Let’s try that again.”

Emori, who was watching from the dinner table, called out commentary as they sparred.

“Get in there, Harper!” she called. Harper had only a second to glance at Emori in her periphery before Raven launched herself at her. Harper threw her arms up in defense, catching Raven and pushing back, knocking the other girl off balance just enough to send her toppling backwards with a well-placed swinging kick.

“Damn, Harper, do that tonight and you might be the first of us girls to beat Echo,” Raven said, whistling in approval as Harper helped her up.

She gave a shy smile, shrugging a shoulder. “We’ll see,” she said, taking a cup of water from Emori and sipping it slowly. “For now, though, I think I’m gonna go shower and see if Monty needs any help.”

“I should probably go check on Murphy,” Emori added, passing a cup of water to Raven next. With that, the three girls split up to finish their afternoon duties.

When it was finally time for dinner, Harper made her way back to the mess hall hand in hand with Monty.

“I was tinkering with the algae formula earlier,” Monty was saying as they crossed the threshold into the room, only to see they were the first ones there. She instinctively leaned into him, tipping her head against his shoulders and humming in interest, urging him to continue.

“It should taste better. Or, at least it’ll get Raven to stop complaining. Hopefully,” he added.

Harper giggled, letting go of his hand and wrapping her arms around his arm. “You know she’s only teasing you, right?” she asked, pecking his cheek.

“No, I’m complaining,” Raven’s voice rang out behind them. Harper glanced back, giving the other girl an exaggerated eyeroll.

“Be nice!” she chided, thankful that Raven had the grace to look remorseful, if only for a brief moment before she was looping around them and playfully jabbing her elbow in Monty’s side.

“So, what’s for supper? Algae, algae, or the special, algae?” the mechanic asked.

“I think it’s algae,” Emori said, appearing on Harper’s left. Murphy was right behind her.

Monty gave an exaggerated sigh, disappearing into the small kitchen off the hall.

“Hey, where’s Bellamy and Echo?” Harper asked as she settled into her usual spot at the table, between Raven and the empty spot reserved for Monty.

A knowing look was exchanged between Raven and Emori as they sat down. “It’s cute that they think we don’t know,” Emori quipped, a twinkle in her eye.

“Know what?” Murphy asked, sitting on Emori’s left.

“Come on, you haven’t noticed?” Raven asked, disbelief dripping from every word.

Harper smirked at the look of confusion on Murphy’s face. “When has he ever been that observant, though?” she asked, flashing him her sweetest smile to let him know she was joking.

Murphy didn’t have time to reply, though, as first Bellamy, then Echo came into the room. Raven snorted into her water glass and Emori had to put her hand over her mouth. Harper tried to give them both stern looks, but even she found it hard not to smile as the last two members of their little family tried so obviously hard to make it look like they hadn’t spent most of the afternoon together behind closed doors.

Not that she blamed them, of course. The first three years on the Ring had been hard, especially on Bellamy, and if Echo was giving him the comfort he so obviously needed, then Harper wasn’t going to complain.

Monty came back to the table with a pot and a ladle, sporting an apron. “Algae’s up,” he announced.

As always, Harper was the first to lift her bowl to be filled. Once everyone had a full bowl, Monty sat next to Harper and lifted his bowl in the air.

“Cheers,” he said, and everyone drank the soupy mix at once. Harper had grown used to it and barely shuddered at the taste, but through the corner of her eye, she could see Raven’s shoulders shake. Across from her, Bellamy winced. No one said anything, though. It wasn’t Monty’s fault.

After a minute, during which everyone tried to rid their mouths of the taste of the algae, Raven leaned forward, her elbows on the table.

“I was looking at an old calendar earlier, and I noticed something. It’s October 31st,” she said, arching an eyebrow.

Emori and Echo both looked confused, so Harper spoke up. “In the old days, there was this holiday-like event called Halloween, taking place on October 31st.”

“Oh, yeah,” Murphy cut in, grinning. “People used to get dressed up in costumes and go around asking for candy or something. I remember we used to watch scary movies before my mom--” he stopped abruptly, staring down at his lap.

“My mom and I used to tell Octavia scary stories on Halloween,” Bellamy said quietly. All eyes turned to him. He rarely spoke about his sister. She was almost more of a taboo topic than Clarke herself.

“Jasper and I… we had a secret stash we’d save specifically for Halloween,” Monty said quickly, to break the awkward silence that had fallen.

After a moment, Emori coughed. “Sounds like an interesting holiday,” she said, while Echo crossed her arms in front of her with that quizzical expression everyone had come to associate with her trying to process Skaikru traditions.

Harper hummed in thought. Then, she smirked. “We should tell scary stories tonight, to mark the occasion. After the match. Could be fun.”

Everyone agreed. As they finished with another round of algae (Monty insisted that everyone always had two servings at every meal), Harper was laughing at a joke Emori made when the lights in the room flickered.

“I’m gonna go check on that,” Raven said, rising to her feet. “After last time, I’m sure none of us want to deal with a power outage.”

A shudder rolled across the group. “I’ll come with you,” Emori said, following Raven out of the room. “Don’t start the match until we’re back! I wanna see Harper kick Echo’s ass.”

Harper flushed, peeking across the table at Echo, who had her arms across her chest.

“We’ll wait,” she promised.

When Raven and Emori returned, Harper was stretching in one corner of the mess hall. Murphy volunteered to serve as the referee for the match, and Harper and Echo shook hands and tied up their hair. Harper settled into a ready position, her hands up in front of her, and Echo crouched in an almost feral pose. While Murphy and Emori had taken an interest in the Azgeda fighting stances, Harper preferred the stances she had learned in Arkadia, under Bellamy and Licnoln’s tutelage. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had been standing there, with Monroe, learning how to fight.

Murphy gave the signal and Harper blocked a lunging blow from Echo, sidestepping around and jabbing with her elbow. To her pleasant surprise, it knocked the taller girl off balance a bit and she was able to launch into a combination of kicks and jabs that forced Echo to the edge of the mat. The Azgeda warrior wasn’t about to give up that easily, though, and struck back with several blows at lightning speed, knocking Harper off balance and down on her side. As she rolled over to avoid getting pinned, she could have sworn she saw an extra figure standing behind Bellamy. Monty, Raven, and Emori’s cheers broke her focus, though, and she managed to get up on her knees.

Echo advanced, and Harper put both hands down on the mat, swinging her leg around and catching Echo in the back of the legs, bringing her down. She pounced, landing on top of the taller girl and trying to pin her down. Just as quickly, though, Harper was on her stomach with her arm pulled back behind her.

“Yield,” Echo said. It was no use. As much as Harper struggled, she couldn’t get out of the taller girl’s grip and she tapped the mat with her fist in submission.

Murphy called it, and Raven and Emori groaned in unison. Echo climbed off of Harper and extended a hand to help her up. As she stood, the glare of the lights in the mess hall on a table made her blink, and as she opened her eyes, there was a hooded figure standing in the far corner of the room, visible over Echo’s shoulder. Another blink, and the figure was gone.

“Nice job,” Echo was saying, and Harper dragged her attention back to the other girl. “That sweeping kick was a great move, but you need to work on pinning now.”

She nodded, checking the far corner again. Nothing. Weird.

Monty stepped into her field of vision, leaning in and pecking her on the lips. “You were amazing,” he said, beaming. Ever the proud boyfriend. She flushed.

“One of these days I’ll beat her,” she said.

“Hell, yeah,” Raven piped up.

Bellamy was ready with wet towels for the two girls, and then everyone moved to a different room on the Ring. At some point, it had been a conference room, but they used it for group discussions. Family meetings, Bellamy called them. Tonight, though, it would have another use.

Raven had found a small flashlight, and as everyone settled on the floor in a circle, she turned off the lights and sat down between Bellamy and Echo. She then flicked on the flashlight, aiming it under her chin.

“It was a dark and solar flare-ridden night,” she started in a deep voice, continuing on to tell a story about a couple living in Farm Station that were attacked by a killer algae plant. Harper had to admit, Raven was good at telling scary stories. At the end of the story, she turned the flashlight off and on rapidly, multiple times, and only gave up the device after everyone gave the appropriate scared reaction she was no doubt looking for.

Monty took it next, telling a story about a child being haunted by the ghost of a zero-g mechanic. During his story, though, the lights turned on suddenly.

“I’ve got it,” Bellamy said, rising to his feet and going to the control panel. He pushed the light control button, turning the lights off, but as he turned to return to the group, they flickered back on. With a sigh, Bellamy turned back to the panel but before he reached it, the lights turned off on their own.

“Weird,” Emori murmured as Bellamy sat down again. As soon as Monty finished his story, there was a short period of silence before Emori spoke again.

“Mind if I try?” she asked. Monty handed over the flashlight and Emori turned it on under her chin, mirroring what Monty and Raven had done.

Before Emori could begin, though, there was a loud crashing noise outside the room. Harper jumped, while Echo immediately went to the door and checked the hall.

“Nothing’s there,” Echo informed the group as she turned back. She settled down next to Raven once more and Emori began to tell a story about a sand demon. Harper had to admit, Emori was good. Her voice was animated and she paused at the appropriate moments for the group to react.

“And they were never seen again,” she finished, raising her gloved hand. “But sometimes, you can still feel the sand tugging at your feet, trying to drag you under, and in those moments, you can hear whispers, two children begging you to run… run… RUN!”

She shouted the last word, turning off the flashlight abruptly, and a chorus of gasps filled the silence. When Emori turned the flashlight back on, Harper could have sworn she saw a figure in the corner, but when she blinked, it was gone.

“Did anyone see that?” she decided to ask, hoping someone else had seen it.

“See what?” Raven asked, glancing around.

“Oh, nothing. Must have been my imagination,” Harper replied, leaning against Monty’s shoulder. “My mind must be playing tricks on me, with all the scary stories. I thought I saw someone.”

There was a chorus of murmurs. Then, Raven asked who wanted the flashlight next. Bellamy reached for it, and held it under his chin. Harper grinned, wondering what kind of story he would tell, but Bellamy didn’t speak. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the corner of the room. Harper blinked and glanced over. Nothing.

“We’re waiting,” Murphy drawled. Bellamy shook his head.

“I thought I saw Charlotte,” he said, biting his lip. Murphy shifted uncomfortably, and Harper glanced sideways at Monty. Emori and Echo looked confused, and Raven put her hand on Bellamy’s knee.

“Charlotte was one of us, one of the 100,” she explained. Murphy slid back, away from the circle. “She died.”

“Wait, no, she’s right there,” Bellamy said, pointing. “You don’t see her?”

“No one’s there, Bell,” Harper said as Monty slid an arm over her shoulder. “It’s just your imagination. Just like me.”

“Wait, no.” Murphy suddenly said, sitting up straight. “I see her too.” He lifted a shaking finger, pointing to the corner. “She’s right there.”

Harper glanced over at the corner. Nothing. She shifted uncomfortably.

Before anyone could speak, a loud siren went off. It was a piercing sound, and Harper clapped her hands over her ears. Raven rose to her feet, heading for the control panel, but just as she reached it, the lights started flashing in a strobe pattern.

Harper squeezed her eyes shut. She felt Monty pulling her to her feet and then they were moving, out of the room and into the hall. The lights were flashing there too, to the rhythm of the siren, and she couldn’t tell which way was which. Her head started to pound, and she pressed a hand against the wall, trying to steady herself.

Everything stopped for a second. The lights steadied, and the siren faded. Then the siren sounded again, impossibly louder, and the lights turned off, enveloping the group in darkness. It was pandemonium. Even with the lights off, Harper felt like she should be able to see, but she couldn’t see her own hands in front of her face. She felt someone brush past her, then thought she heard Raven’s voice just as a rough, calloused hand grabbed for her own, holding it. It was comforting and she intertwined her fingers. Was it Monty? She couldn’t tell. She could barely hear herself think.

Raven’s voice cut through the darkness again and Harper wanted to scream at her, that they shouldn’t separate. Then the lights flashed back on, brighter than she could remember, and the sound stopped. Murphy was beside her, holding her hand. Somehow, they had ended up back in the mess hall. She blinked, trying to clear her vision.

And there was the hooded figure that had been haunting her since dinner, standing in the middle of the room. The figure raised its head, lifting the hood back, revealing Dr Tsing. The woman gave her a bone-chilling smile

Harper let out a strangled cry, dragging Murphy back, bumping into Bellamy.

“What the hell?” Emori blurted out, frozen in place, still with Monty’s hand on her shoulder.

“Is everyone seeing what I’m seeing?” Echo asked, and her voice sounded smaller, less confident than anyone was used to.

Harper nodded mutely.

“You didn’t think you could get away from me that easily?” Raven asked. Except it wasn’t Raven. It was her voice, but the rhythm was all wrong. The pitch. Murphy dropped Harper’s hand and she slowly turned.

Raven was grinning. She reached into her pocket, pulling out something that looked all too familiar. A chip.

“Alie!” Bellamy hissed, throwing out his arm and standing between the rest of the group and Raven.

The lights started flashing again, and the siren began again. Harper couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, could only stand, frozen in place between what appeared to be Alie, still possessing Raven’s mind, and Tsing. Her two worst nightmares.

She didn’t remember passing out. All she remembered was waking up with a start, panting, her heart still racing. The lights were back to normal, and the only sounds were the low humming of the Ring. She was slumped against Bellamy, and as Harper slowly began to take stock of her surroundings, she could see Monty and Emori a few feet away, and Murphy on a chair with his head on the table. Raven and Echo were on the floor next to her.

Harper blinked, sitting up and looking around the room. Tsing wasn’t there. Charlotte wasn’t there. No one was there.

“Hnnng,” she heard behind her. Bellamy pushed himself up, looking around.

“You okay?” she asked, shifting so she was leaning against the leg of the table.

“I think so,” he replied, putting his hand against his forehead. “I just have a splitting headache.”

Harper nodded. “Me too,” she replied. Monty and Emori woke up next, followed by Raven and Echo.

“Is that you?” Bellamy asked. Raven put her fingers on her temples.

“It’s me. Did anyone else think that--”

“That Alie was back?” Yeah,” Monty interrupted, pausing to squeeze Harper into a hug. “Right after Tsing showed up.”

“So you saw that too?” Harper asked, tucking her head against Monty’s shoulder.

“I think we all did,” Bellamy replied, glancing at Murphy, still passed on on the table. Emori was shaking his shoulder.

“John. John, wake up!” she said. Murphy groaned, slowly lifting his head up.

“What?” he asked.

“So everyone’s okay?” Echo asked, stepping up beside Bellamy. Harper turned just in time to see Bellamy intertwining his fingers with Echo’s, and allowed herself the tiniest smirk. From the look on Raven’s face, she had noticed as well.

“Yeah, I think so,” Monty said.

“What the hell happened, anyway?” Murphy asked, glancing around the room. Harper couldn’t blame him. She was still shaken up over everything that had happened.

“I’ll go check the control room,” Raven said, and she left, followed by Emori.

When they left, Harper tugged Monty down to the floor and curled up on his lap, leaning against his shoulder. Bellamy and Echo had stepped apart, and Murphy was sitting on a chair, rubbing his forehead.

“You know, I think we all know,” Harper said suddenly, glancing between Bellamy and Echo. “Except maybe Murphy. But you two don’t have to hide it.”

“Hide what?” Echo asked, almost too quickly. Harper smiled softly, shrugging.

“You two make a nice couple,” she said simply, before turning back to Monty.

When Raven and Emori returned, Raven launched into a detailed, highly technical description of what they had discovered in the control room.

“And, for those of us who aren’t super geniuses, once more in English?” Murphy drawled.

Raven raised her middle finger at him. “All of the systems are fine. I couldn’t find any glitches.”

“So, how come the lights and sirens were going off?” Echo asked, glancing around apprehensively. Even now, three years in, Harper knew she still didn’t quite trust the technology around them.

“I dunno,” Raven replied, shrugging. “Maybe it was all in our heads.”

“All seven of us hallucinated the exact same thing?” Bellamy asked, frowning. “How would that happen?”

“Look, we’re fine now. Obviously I’m not being possessed by Alie, and obviously we all know Tsing is dead. It’s Halloween, and we’re all on edge. It was probably just our imaginations. Or a dream.”

Monty had a strange expression on his face and Harper frowned. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Monty replied. “I think I’m going to go to the algae farm and check on it.”

He took off at a quick pace, out of the room. Harper glanced around, making eye contact with everyone.

“What was that all about?” Emori asked. Harper shrugged.

“I’ll go check on him.”

Later that evening, before crawling into bed with Monty, Harper could have sworn she heard a low voice echoing through the room. She blinked, and the lights flickered in time with her blinking.

“It’s all in my head,” she mumbled to herself, lying down next to her boyfriend. Monty rolled over, pulling her into his arms.

“What was that?” he asked. Harper shook her head.

“Nothing,” she lied, pulling the scratchy blanket up and over them. Before she closed her eyes, though, she noticed a dark shadow moving in the corner of the room.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy Halloween! Comments and Kudos make my day! Bailey and Sara are amazing!


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